Forced marriages could become illegal in Georgia
Tweet 
Share
The old fashioned norm of arranged or forced marriages could soon become a illegal if changes to Georgian law are approved, resulting in a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment.
Parliament of Georgia today discussed the issue of forced or arranged marriages, addressed in amendments in the Criminal Code of Georgia. It was the third hearing on the issue within the country's legislative body.
According to the proposed changes, forcing a woman to get married following a deal between two sets of parents or abducting a woman to coerce her into marriage will become a criminal offence. If a person is found guilty of coercion of marriage, the person could be sentenced to 200-400 hours community service or two to four years imprisonment.
An automatic prison sentence of two to four years would be issued if this criminal act was knowingly committed against a minor.
Amendments to strengthen the laws against family violence and change societial perceptions and norms surrounding such issues have already been introduced to Parliament.
Of the almost 4,000 people questioned, two thirds (68 percent) believed there was no gender equality in the country, women were poorly represented in Parliament and having more women in leading roles would have a positive impact on the country.
Statistics from the Notary Chamber of Georgia revealed increasing numbers of couples were today signing prenuptial agreements than in previous years.
In the first three months of the year 12 marriage contracts were signed, said the Chamber.
Georgian designers are uniting to support the female victims of violence in a charity project called ‘Kindness is Always Fashionable’.
Dubravka Simonovic, who was on her first official visit to Georgia, said violence against women should be spoken about in society instead of it being regarded as "private, family business”.
The Georgian National Statistics Office has announced that the number of marriages last year decreased by 5.6 percent compared to 2016, while 7.2 percent more couples divorced in 2017 than in 2016.
The Georgian Interior Ministry launched investigations into 175 cases of early marriages in 2019, just five cases less than in 2018.
Georgian law enforcers have detained four individuals for kidnapping a girl in Georgia’s southeastern Gardabani municipality.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has launched an information campaign against child marriage in partnership with the local office of the United Nations Population Fund, the Ministry said on Wednesday.
Georgian law enforcers have arrested two individuals for kidnapping a young woman in Georgia’s eastern Marneuli municipality, the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.
Georgia’s public security management centre and the United Nations population fund on Wednesday signed an agreement on joint efforts to prevent early marriages and ensuring information campaigns over the societal problem, the country’s interior ministry said.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday pledged further legal amendments to respond to the early marriage problem across the country following the murder of a 14-year-old kidnapped and forced into a marriage earlier this month in eastern Georgia.
The United Nations Population Fund on Friday held a meeting discussing the importance of accelerating national commitments to eliminate the practice of child marriage in Georgia through empowering adolescents and creating opportunities for their development.